put the finger on

In the mid 16th century this idea was expressed in the form each finger is a thumb.

All thumbs developed in the 19th century as an expression indicating a complete lack of dexterity.

burn your fingers = get your fingers burned = get your fingers burnt

suffer unpleasant consequences as a result of your actions.

1998 - Times - An American buyer remains a possibility, although it is not entirely clear why any would want to risk getting their fingers burnt twice.

cross your fingers

hope that your plans will be successful

trust in good luck

The gesture of putting your index and middle fingers across each other as a sign of hoping for good luck is a scaled-down version of the Christian one of making the sign of the Cross with your whole hand and arm as a request for divine protection. It is also superstitiously employed when telling a deliberate lie with the idea of warding off the evil that might be expected to befall a liar.

1998 - Spectator - Since resources were limited the only hope the clients had was to hang in there, fingers crossed.

get your finger out = pull your finger out

cease prevaricating and start to act – British informal

give someone the finger

make a gesture with the middle finger raised as an obscene sign of contempt - North American informal

Since 1976, this gesture has sometimes been called the Rockefeller Gesture after Nelson Rockefeller was seen making it on a news film.

have a finger in every pie

be involved in a large and varied number of activities or enterprises

have a finger in the pie

be involved in a matter, especially in an annoyingly interfering way.

have your fingers in the till = have your hand in the till = with your fingers in the till = with your hand in the till

stealing from your employer

have your finger on the pulse = keep your finger on the pulse

be aware of all the latest news or developments.

lay a finger on

touch someone, usually with the intention of harming them.

1993 - Tony Parker - May the Lord in His Mercy be Kind to Belfast - The one thing I'll say about my husband is he never laid a finger on the children and he never hit me in front of them.

point the finger

openly accuse someone or apportion blame.

1998 – Spectator - Reason suggests that one should point the finger at those who whipped up the emotion in the first place.

put something on the long finger

postpone consideration of something

put something off – Irish

put your finger on

identify something exactly.

1988 - Glenn Patterson - Burning Your Own – There was something about the dinette that struck him as peculiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

snap your fingers = click your fingers

make a sharp clicking sound by bending the last joint of the middle finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing it, typically in order to attract attention in a peremptory way or to accompany the beat of music.